U.S. patent number 5,807,156 [Application Number 08/838,509] was granted by the patent office on 1998-09-15 for luminescent bottle cap.
Invention is credited to Peggy L. Owen.
United States Patent |
5,807,156 |
Owen |
September 15, 1998 |
Luminescent bottle cap
Abstract
An attachment for baby bottles which fits around the nipple
attached to such a bottle. The attachment is a ring which fits over
a baby bottle nipple and is secured to the bottle itself. The ring,
in one embodiment, has a double wall with objects made from
luminescent material placed between the walls. Another embodiment
has raised letters or a design placed on the outside surface of the
attachment, which has a luminescent material inside the letters or
design.
Inventors: |
Owen; Peggy L. (Chatom,
AL) |
Family
ID: |
25277267 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/838,509 |
Filed: |
April 8, 1997 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/77; 215/11.1;
215/227; 215/386; 446/219; 446/227; 446/267 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61J
9/00 (20130101); A63F 2250/42 (20130101); A61J
2205/20 (20130101); A61J 11/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61J
9/00 (20060101); A63H 033/22 (); A61J 009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/11.1,11.6,227,228,230,386 ;446/77,219,227,267 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Ricci; John A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Patent & Tratemark Services
McGlynn; Joseph H.
Claims
What I claim as my invention is:
1. An attachment for a baby bottle comprising:
a ring having a top and bottom and side walls,
said ring having an aperture in said top and bottom,
said side walls having an inner and an outer wall with a space
between said inner and outer walls,
liquid at least partially filling said space,
objects in said liquid,
said objects being made from a luminescent material.
2. The attachment for a baby bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said ring is made from a resilient material.
3. The attachment for a baby bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said liquid is water.
4. The attachment for a baby bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said objects are selected from the group consisting of animals,
numbers, letters, flowers or figures.
5. The attachment for a baby bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said outer wall has a raised surface,
said raised surface containing a luminescent material.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates, in general, to infant feeding bottles, and,
in particular, to a collar for the nipple which has portions with
luminescent material to enable the bottle to be seen in the
dark.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In the prior art various types of infant baby bottle attachments
have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,084,689 discloses
a nipple protector which can be secured around a baby bottle nipple
to protect the nipple from dirt.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,409,820 discloses a baby bottle cover which also
serves to hold the bottle upright and also serves as a pillow or
neck support for the infant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,214 discloses a nipple retaining collar for a
baby bottle which is made from a luminescent material so the bottle
can be seen in the dark.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,374 discloses a decorative attachment for
improving the appearance of a baby bottle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to an attachment for baby bottles
which fit around the nipple attached to such a bottle. The
attachment is a ring which fits over a baby bottle nipple and is
secured to the bottle itself. The ring, in one embodiment, has a
double wall with objects made from luminescent material placed
between the walls. Another embodiment has raised letters or a
design placed on the outside surface of the attachment, which has a
luminescent material inside the letters or design.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new
attachment for baby bottles which has luminescent material to make
the baby bottle visible at night.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new
attachment for baby bottles which is attractive to infants.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new
attachment for baby bottles which is safe and non-toxic to
infants.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention
will be fully apparent from the following description, when taken
in connection with the annexed drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view of the present invention attached to a baby
bottle.
FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 2 embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a side view of a second embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the FIG. 4 embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows the
present invention 1 attached to a baby feeding bottle 10. As shown
in FIGS. 1 and 2, the attachment 1 is a cover 2 which has an
aperture 4 in its upper surface through which a nipple 9 can
protrude. As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 2 has an inner wall 6 and
an outer wall 7 with a space there between. The space will be
filled with a non-toxic liquid such as, but not limited to, water
3. Also placed within the space between the walls 6, 7 will be a
number of objects such as, but not limited to, animals, numbers,
letters, flowers or FIGS. 8. The animals, numbers, or FIGS. 8 will
be made from a luminescent material capable of absorbing light from
artificial or natural sources, such as light bulbs or the sun. The
material would retain and emit the light for an extended period of
time.
This light retaining and emitting ability would allow the infant,
or a parent, to locate the bottle in the dark. On occasion a parent
will not want to turn on lights in a baby's room after the baby is
in bed. However, when an infant looses his/her nursing bottle in
the dark, the infant might not fall asleep until the bottle is
found. Since this can be difficult in the dark, the luminescent
material would allow the parent or the infant to locate the bottle
without turning on the lights.
In addition, the bottle would be easier to find and/or use when
traveling at night with an infant, as well as during 2:00 AM
feedings. Also, the bottle would be easier for a parent to find if
an infant dropped the bottle and it rolled under a piece of
furniture.
Although, this basic concept, i.e. material, is well known, it is
imperative that the baby be prevented from coming into contact with
the luminescent material itself. For example the patent to Schrader
et al (4,832,214) discloses a retaining ring which is made from a
luminescent material. However, the entire material of the collar is
made from this material, and the infant might ingest some of this
material by chewing on the collar.
This problem is at least lessened and perhaps eliminated by the
present invention. By placing the luminescent material 8 within a
double wall enclosure 6, 7, it is less likely that the infant can
chew through the walls 6, 7, which are made from a completely
non-toxic material, and reach the luminescent material 8 within the
walls. If an infant does chew the walls, this will become obvious
to the parents before the infant can reach the luminescent material
8, and the parents can replace the collar. Therefore, the present
invention adds an extra measure of safety to the "glow in the dark"
bottle that is not present in the prior art devices such as
Schrader et al.
In addition, by placing the objects 8 within a liquid 3 the object
will move as the baby handles the bottle. This will attract their
attention and will help calm the baby.
The collar 2 of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5
has a second aperture 5, 5' which will fit over the top of a
standard baby feeding bottle. Since the material of the collar 2 is
resilient, the collar will snap over the top of the bottle and will
retain itself thereon. Also, the collar 2 can serve, not only as a
decorative and useful addition, but it can also be used to retain
the nipple on the baby bottle by capturing the nipple and fastening
it to the bottle due to the resiliency of the material of the
collar 2. This will eliminate the need to have a screw threaded
ring as shown in the patent to Estiva (5,114,374).
In a second embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 4
and 5, the collar 2' is essentially the same as the FIG. 2
embodiment except the outer wall 7' has a raised surface 11
attached thereto. The raised surface can be in the form of the
baby's name or some other design such as an animal or flower. By
raising the surface 11, and placing the luminescent material within
the raised surface, the bottle will be visible at night even if the
bottle falls with the raised surface facing downward. Since the
surface 11 is raised away from the outer wall the luminescent
material will glow through the sides of the raised surface as well
as through the top or front.
In addition, the two embodiments could be combine into one device
if desired. That is the water filled collar 2 could also have the
raised surface 11 of the FIG. 4 embodiment. This would make the
bottle easier to see in the dark and it would personalize the
bottle for each infant.
Although the Luminescent Bottle Cap and the method of using the
same according to the present invention has been described in the
foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be
understood that modifications may be made to the invention which do
not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of
the present invention done by others skilled in the art to which
the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this
invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope
of this invention.
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